The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Herbst: Ollie’s dismissal was justified
In a June 19 letter to Kevin Ollie, UConn president Susan Herbst said that his dismissal as men’s basketball head coach was warranted due to “the instances of NCAA non-compliance by you personally, as well as the coaches and staff under your direction, and the culture the violations exemplify with regard to compliance in the men’s basketball program under your leadership.”
The letter, obtained Monday by Hearst Connecticut Media through a Freedom of Information Act request, also argues several of the points made by UConn AAUP executive director Michael Bailey a couple of months earlier in a letter to athletic director David Benedict detailing why Ollie’s dismissal wasn’t justified.
Herbst said that Ollie’s contract, signed in November 2016, which states that he can be fired for “just cause” for any NCAA or school-related infraction, trumps the AAUP contract, which offers a different definition for “just cause.” Bailey has argued the union contract takes precedence over Ollie’s pact with the school.
Herbst also notes that, while even one “de minimis” violation is cause for Ollie’s firing, his failure to report them to UConn’s compliance department suggests “either a knowing disregard for your compliance obligations or a gross inability to satisfy them.”
The outgoing UConn president added that the fact that there are numerous incidents, minor or not, indicates a pattern of noncompliance on Ollie’s part.
Herbst also contradicted Bailey’s claims that Ollie was being treated differently than other head coaches, including former head coach Jim Calhoun. She noted that Calhoun was employed for many more years than Ollie and had gone numerous years without any serious issues until an NCAA investigation was launched in 2010.
And while Herbst acknowledged the investigation into Calhoun’s pro-